With every move, every signing, a question for the Clippers always loomed in the background — will Paul Pierce be back next season?

The answers have never been certain, and even in mid-August, that’s still the case. But, a probability has emerged, at least for now.

Pierce, an 18-season veteran in the NBA, is planning to return to the Los Angeles Clippers for his 19th season in the league according to multiple league sources.

Pierce has wavered with his decision for most of the summer, and another change in plans wouldn’t be shocking.

Pierce struggled in the first year of his reunion with Doc Rivers, averaging a career-low 6.1 points on the lowest field-goal percentage of his career (36.3 percent).

The reduced role (18.1 minutes per game, another career low) and Pierce’s age led to speculation the 38-year-old might retire this summer.

“I just don’t want to make an emotional decision right now,” he said after the Clippers were eliminated in the playoffs last spring. “I’ll just take some time off, sit down with my family and think long and hard.”

And, the thinking, it’s been long.

While waiting for Pierce, the team built a roster with enough depth to handle a potential retirement.

In building their roster this summer, the team re-signed wings Wesley Johnson and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The team also added Alan Anderson in free agency.

If Pierce is going to contribute as a small-ball power forward, he’ll be competing for minutes with traditional options like Marreese Speights, Brandon Bass and first-round pick Brice Johnson.

The Clippers signed Pierce to a three-year deal worth approximately $10 million before the 2015-16 season, though no one, Pierce included, expected three more years.

“I don’t have much basketball left — whether it’ll be this year or another year. To come home and play in front of family and friends and possibly win a championship, it’s like a dream come true,” Pierce said prior to the season. “If we win this year, win a championship, I’ll probably be done with basketball to be honest.”

The Clippers didn’t win, and in the aftermath of a disappointing season that ended with an even more disappointing loss, Pierce was clearly emotional.

“Every year when you lose that game, when you say it’s time to go home and no more basketball for the year, and you’re not holding up that trophy, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said after Game 6 in Portland.. “If you’re any type of competitor, if you have any type of dream, you’re always thinking about winning that championship.

“ … I don’t want to make an emotional decision. Every heartbreak makes you want to come back.”

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